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In the list released by BJP, the ticket of Bhagwandas Sabnani from Bhopal Dakshin Paschim (South-West) assembly seat has been finalised. He will face former minister and current Congress MLA PC Sharma. In a previous list, BJP fielded its candidates in Bhopal on all the seats except this seat. It is believed that this seat is one of the most competitive seats for BJP. Hence, BJP has taken time in declaring its candidate.
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What is the history of Bhopal Dakshin Paschim assembly seat?
In the year 2008, Sanjeev Saxena of BSP was contesting against Umashankar Gupta from here. He had to face defeat from Gupta in this election. Umashankar Gupta got 51.03 per cent votes (48,707) during this period. Whereas, Saxena got only 23.79 percent (22,705) votes. Moreover, Deepchand Yadav of Congress got only 14.13 percent votes. Once again in the elections held in 2013, Sanjeev Saxena was in front of Umashankar Gupta, but this time he was a candidate from Congress. He had to face defeat in this election also. But the fates changed in the year 2018. The Congress fielded PC Sharma against Umashankar Gupta, and PC Sharma defeated him by a margin of only 6,587 votes.
Vyapam accused Sanjeev Saxena
The Vyapam scam has resonated in the political sphere of Madhya Pradesh, becoming a contentious topic of high significance not only for the state. But, for a particular assembly seat as well. An incident of note occurred in 2014 when the Supreme Court named Congress's Sanjeev Saxena as a defendant in this scandal, prompting him to voluntarily present himself in court on May 12th of the same year. In addition to the Vyapam case, Saxena faced accusations in four other cases, leading to his subsequent arrest. However, in light of the CBI's closure report submission to the court earlier this year, Saxena was exonerated of all charges in July.
Saxena, who was released only after getting a clean chit in July, became active in the South West Legislative Assembly of Bhopal (Bhopal Dakshin Paschim). Posters of his claim were also put up in the area on his behalf. However, there was no mention of any party in these. But Congress gave a ticket to PC Sharma on this seat. In such a situation, the contradiction in Congress became clear. Saxena had also targeted Sharma without taking his name in a program in July.
Contradiction in Congress
Saxena, exonerated in July, resumed his role in the South West Legislative Assembly of Bhopal (Bhopal Dakshin Paschim). Posters advocating his claim were circulated in the area on his behalf, yet they did not indicate any party affiliation. However, it was the Congress party that nominated PC Sharma to contest this seat. This decision unveiled a clear contradiction within the Congress party, with Saxena subtly criticizing Sharma during an event in July.
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BJP garnering Sindhi votes through Sabnani
BJP has given a ticket to Bhagwan Das Sabnani from this constituency. It is believed that through Sabnani, the BJP is trying to tap the Sindhi vote bank in Bhopal. Till now no candidate from the Sindhi community has been fielded by BJP. Whereas Sindhi community plays an effective role in the Huzur Assembly with 14 percent population. However, Sabnani had earlier rebelled against the BJP and contested the elections as an independent candidate and had to face defeat.
On one side, Congress is grappling with its own internal conflicts, while on the other side, the present BJP candidate is also encountering opposition. Supporters of Umashankar Gupta, a thrice-elected MLA from this constituency, are protesting his failure to secure the party ticket. This unrest was clearly manifested when they besieged the BJP office last Sunday.
What are the major issues?
This assembly seat of Bhopal is considered an employee-dominated seat. In such a situation, bringing back the old pension scheme is a big issue. While addressing a rally in Jabalpur in the month of June, Priyanka Gandhi had expressed confidence about the Old Pension Scheme. Apart from this, a large section of people also live in slums in this area. Housing and toilets are the major issues here. There is a big vegetable market in Bhopal in Bittan Market which comes under the assembly. The lack of adequate facilities here will also be a major issue.
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